Sunday, December 23, 2007

One of the most exciting developments of this holiday season is the unexpected arrival of a German gray market release of Dario Argento's elusive FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET on DVD. I've received some e-mails asking me if the rumors are true and, if so, how does it look... so I'll devote today's blog to answering that question.

As these screen grabs illustrate, the 97m disc -- titled VIER FLIEGEN AUF GRAUEM SAMT and credited to a company called Retrofilm -- is indeed real and it looks pretty good. It was also obviously assembled by people who know their Argento movies well. The great bulk of the source material comes from a 35mm print, in English, that looks like it's been around the block a few times; it's a bonafide, old-fashioned grindhouse print, complete with the occasional travelling scratches and thumpy splices... but the image quality, imperfect as it is, is by far the best I've seen for this particular film. If you've only seen the film on one or more of the ratty bootleg videocassettes long in circulation (which happens to also be my story), I think I can safely promise you a viewing of FOUR FLIES that you might consider revelatory.

Closeups like this one, of the blackmailing maniac's mask, are sharp enough to bring out previously unsuspected textures. I always thought this was a facial mask, but it appears to be more of a whole-head mask.

Medium or long shots like this look a bit softer, but still more than acceptable on my 58" widescreen set. If your screen is smaller than mine, the quality will only improve for you.

As always, the sharper the picture, the more attentive we can be to matters of performance and Mimsy Farmer gives one of her most interesting and brittle performances here.

This shot of protagonist Michael Brandon, sharing the screen with Euro great Bud Spencer (as "God") is a good index to the disc's color quality. As you can see by comparing these skin tones to those in the bed shot shown previously, they are prone to fluctuation. Not ideal, but those who saw the film in theaters here in 1972 probably saw something similar.

Earlier I said that "the bulk" of the disc looks pretty good. I qualified my statement because the 35mm print used for this release was evidently incomplete, requiring the Argento buffs behind the scenes to obtain the best possible inserts from other sources to make their presentation as complete as it could be. I didn't notice anything missing from the movie; in fact, there are shots included in this disc that I've either never seen before, or saw in such poor quality that I could never appreciate them for what they were. The scene illustrated here, of Brandon's maid waiting in the park for a meeting with the killer, is one of five or six short patches inserted into the continuity from other sources. They're unfortunate, but it would be worse not to have them in place.

I should also mention that it's a pleasure to see this Techniscope film in its correct ratio, which brings to life fleeting shots like this one -- of the gay private eye investigating the case.

Indeed, the disc salvages so much heretofore obscured detail that, for the first time, I noticed that Argento or his art director used some record albums of the day to wryly underscore the film's death imperative prior to its grand finale: Traffic's JOHN BARLEYCORN MUST DIE and George Harrison's ALL THINGS MUST PASS.

The only source I know for this Region 0 PAL disc is Xploited Cinema, where it is priced at $29.95. The disc includes English, German and Italian audio options, but only German subtitles. A bonus section includes German trailers for this film, as well as one each for Argento's previous features THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE and THE CAT O'NINE TAILS. Alternate Italian titles and an extended edit of the film's finale also taken from that version are included, as well.

Of course, VIER FLIEGEN AUF GRAUEM SAMT is not what anyone would call a definitive release. It's really just a deluxe pacifier to keep Argento's fans contented until whatever legal problems are preventing the film's legitimate release can be solved. Anyone who buys this disc will inevitably want to upgrade in the event of an official release, but it's worth the inevitable double dip to have this movie available to us now -- for those crazy goddamn nights when nothing else will do.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Jess Franco's EUGENIE DE SADE, starring Soledad Miranda (pictured above) and Paul Muller, has been released a number of times on DVD -- domestically from Wild East, as an Australian R0 import from Force Video, and so forth. However, next month on January 29, Blue Underground will be reissuing this important title -- perhaps the finest and most intimate title in Franco's sprawling filmography -- in its most breathtaking transfer to date. Here, to whet your appetite, are some remarkable advance screen grabs.

The reason why this new release is so much better looking than any other we've seen may have something to do with the title card, which lists the 1970 film under the title EUGENIA with a 1984 copyright.

To the viewer's surprise, the new transfer reveals the film to be full of enticing textures, like the upholstery on this chair, the hanging carpet above the Franval family sofa, the scarlet leather of the thigh-high boots that Eugenie wears as part of her disguise in Berlin.

For my money, this is the single greatest closeup in Franco's filmography and I prize it more highly than the closing shot of Greta Garbo in QUEEN CHRISTINA. The transfer is so sharp, as it moves even more closely into Eugenie's face as she looks on adoringly at her father that you can see the exhaustion limning Soledad's eyes and read her thoughts. In the accompanying 20m interview with Jess Franco, he reveals for the first time that Soledad was beset by premonitions of her early death throughout the shooting of what she was convinced would be her last film. She lived to make three more.

Jess Franco as the inquisitive author Attila Tanner.

The hot red lighting in the nightclub during the band's performance is rendered with zero chromatic noise, and the colors of Andres Monales' scarf really pop.

Here's Paul Muller in a closeup that reveals more detail in his face than was delivered by the earlier, comparatively soft transfers. Likewise, a light smattering of freckles can sometimes be seen peppered over the bridge of Soledad Miranda's nose.

What ultimately makes the Blue Underground disc definitive, however, is its provision of not only the (frankly not-so-hot) English dub track, but also the French soundtrack with optional English subtitles. For some reason, during the scene of Eugenie's strip-tease in the midst of a drinking game, the accompanying dance cue is different on the two soundtracks -- and far more effective in the French track, as is the film's drama in general.

In David Gregory's interview featurette "Franco de Sade," the writer-actor-director discusses his teenage discovery of the forbidden works of the Marquis de Sade, his love for the characters in this story of incest and crime, and also the late Soledad Miranda. He denies any suggestion that he and she were lovers, insisting that their relationship was more like a father and daughter -- rather a suspicious comment to make in tandem with a movie like this, but one which I suspect is true. He also goes on the record for the first time about eerie details of Soledad's oltre-tumba endorsement of her successor, Lina Romay.

All in all, an ideal disc of one of the great transgressive horror films of the 1970s, which Blue Underground is releasing on the same day as another Franco title, CECILIA, a picturesque piece of '80s erotica also known as Aberraciones sexuales de una mujer casada.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

I'll never forget that fateful morning a few years ago when Amy Brown turned my world upside-down.

I was just out of bed and getting online, before coffee (as is my unfortunate habit), when I discovered on the Mobius Film Discussion Boards a posting from Amy announcing her discovery of two forgotten EPs recorded by the late Spanish actress Soledad Miranda in 1964 and 1965. I had written a seminal appreciative essay about Soledad -- unforgettable as the Dark Lady of such Jess Franco sonnets as VAMPYROS LESBOS and SHE KILLS IN ECSTASY, tragically killed in an automobile accident in 1970 -- so I had very specific feelings about her and who she was. Therefore, it came as a great shock when I set eyes for the first time on the picture sleeve of her first Belter Records EP (pictured above), which showed this apparition of silken severity sporting a most unlikely goofy grin and a tousled blonde hairstyle that made her look like the Peggy Lee pooch in Disney's LADY AND THE TRAMP. Without her name there, I would never have recognized her in the photo. I gawked at it and gawked at it and thought I had finally lost my mind.

The Soledad I thought I knew was somewhat better represented by the picture sleeve of her second and last EP (pictured above), which showed her, still with that zany look in her eyes, peering through a fistful of color gels -- apparently a nod to "El Color del Amor," one of the songs therein featured. She was more recognizable, but the whole thing still struck me as unbelievable, not least of all because this EP also found the star of EUGENIE DE SADE singing "Chim Chim Cheree" from Walt Disney's MARY POPPINS! What did this exquisite creature, the very epicenter of Spanish horrotica, know about being a chimney sweep?

Since Amy's discovery of these rare records, their exposure has been limited to sound bytes on her valuable website soledadmiranda.com, but now the site is making all eight tracks from the two Belter EPs, with other rare and pertinent tracks, available on CD-R as SOLEDAD SINGS! Also included on the disc are previously unreleased musical performances taken from the soundtracks of the films CANCION DE CUNA (1961), EVA 63 (1963) and CURRITO DE LA CRUZ (1965); sound bytes from the movies SOLTERA Y MADRE EN LA VIDA and 100 RIFLES; and three tribute songs performed by American Boyfriends and Papillon.

Listening to this body of music is a strange experience because so much of what we (or, more to the point, I) know about Soledad Miranda is dissociated from her real voice. Therefore, the music brings us into more direct personal contact with her than even her movies allow; in her films she is playing characters and often speaking with someone else's voice, but, whether they are suited to her or not, these songs reflect her own interpretations.

The first Belter EP finds Soledad attempting to demonstrate her musical range with three poppy "yé yé" numbers and a ballad. The notes explain that she was accompanied by The Latin Quartet, but I suspect this was the name for the background singers as the instrumentation includes piano, alto sax and vibes, as well as the instruments usually associated with pop music. Soledad's voice is equal parts perky and smoky, and she seems to be having fun on the twisty dance numbers "Pelucon" ("Big Wig") and "Lo que hace alas chicas llorar" ("What Makes Little Girls Cry," which finds her singing "Ai yi yi, shooby-dooby dum day!"). The piano/organ ballad "Amor Perdoname" ("Pardon Me, Love") gives her opportunity to introduce an element of drama to the record and is the track where she seems to feel most at home. A third yé yé number, "No leas mi carta" ("Don't Read My Letter") is interesting for the way her vocal performance doesn't quite match the energy of the accompaniment; she sounds as though she is recording the song under duress. Taken collectively, the EP has the feel of a project undertaken purely for PR purposes -- to make Soledad better known to young people and the filmmaking community -- rather than a work of genuine self-expression.

The second Belter EP, recorded with an orchestra led by Adolfo Ventas, is more musically satisfying. While she doesn't bring anything to "Chim Chim Cheree" that you haven't heard before, hers is not an insincere performance and she does remind us that this song, much like "My Favorite Things" from THE SOUND OF MUSIC, attracted the respectful attention of many outstanding jazz artists of the time. The remaining three tracks find Soledad finally blossoming as a recording artist. "El Color del Amor" ("The Color of Love") is very much the musical performance Soledad's fans will be hoping for, a Gene Pitney-like ballad with a chilling, orchestral backdrop that seems to reach out from the grave; "No lo Quiero" ("You Can Have Her") builds from a pizzicato opening to a performance of almost gospel fervor; and "La Verdad" ("The Truth," which Soledad sings as "la verità") finds her singing well to a jerky beat, though the song seems badly mixed with the rhythm section too much up-front. The sound quality on these first eight tracks is acceptable, not as crackly as you might expect old vinyl to be, though the audio is subject to distortion when the performance gets loud.

It is actually in the songs recorded for the three aforementioned films that Soledad's singing sounds most natural and heartfelt. The three songs from CANCION DE CUNA, a movie set in the late 19th century, have an operatic quality to which her voice seems ideally suited. In EVA 63, set in 1963, Soledad actually played a young woman named Soledad who aspires to a singing career, and in these songs she ventures into gypsy and flamenco music, mostly a cappella, that again feels bright and genuine. The two songs from CURRITO DE LA CRUZ, a bullfighting melodrama, are bolero-like dirges sung at the funeral services for two matadors -- almost identical in character, but nevertheless moving.

Following a few curiosity-satisfying tracks that offer Soledad's own voice speaking Spanish and English, and another that reveals how her name is pronounced, are the tribute tracks. "Soledad Miranda" by American Boyfriends is light, romantic pop with lyrics specifically addressing her mystique, while "Soledad" and "Miranda" -- two songs by the French electropop group Papillon -- are more oblique tributes, but (for me, personally) more satisfying. Sleek sophisticated pop with a dark, enticing undercurrent that left me wanting to hear more.

As a piece of construction, this CD-R has its rough edges -- it's not chronological, some of the audio clips from movies end bluntly, and the dialogue cues might have been more comfortably sequenced as a postscript after the music -- but, if any project's success can be measured by how it excites your imagination or curiosity, SOLEDAD SINGS! is a winner. Not only do I want to hear more by Papillon, but the songs from the three movies made me want to track them down (fortunately, they're available from Amy's site) and explore the totality of this woman's screen career; I don't expect the films to be better than EUGENIE DE SADE, but I expect I'll know Soledad Miranda better after seeing them. The disc also stands as a jagged but persuasive argument that, had she survived, Soledad might well have followed her work for Franco with a serious recording career, much as Daliah Lavi -- the Dark Lady of Mario Bava's THE WHIP AND THE BODY -- enjoyed in Germany in the 1970s and '80s. Would that she had that chance.

SOLEDAD SINGS! is available for $10 (CD alone) or $14 (CD with a separate 10-page color brochure) postpaid within the United States. Order by sending PayPal payment to Amy at inkybrown@hotmail.com or by sending a money order to Amy Brown c/o Cliburn, 2525 Ridgmar Blvd. Ste. 307, Fort Worth TX 76116. Those who live outside the US are asked to inquire about specific postal rates by writing to Amy at the aforementioned e-mail address. Those who need more than my word for it are referred to a special page at Amy's site here, where samples of the various tracks are archived.

Note: Though Shane Dallmann didn't specifically include WITCHFINDER GENERAL on his list as a stand-alone title, he did make a special point of highlighting it in his notes for VINCENT PRICE: THE SCREAM GREATS COLLECTION, which he did select -- so I am counting this as a vote in the movie's favor.

John Charles is right: to compile these lists is torment. No matter how hard you try, you cannot see everything; in fact, the more you do see, the task only becomes more difficult because that leaves more to be remembered, and more to be forgotten. I assume I've seen more movies on disc in the last year than most of the others on staff (with the possible exception of Kim Newman, whose own time is divided by reviewing theatrical releases), but that advantage doesn't necessarily narrow the playing field of choices.

As with anyone else, my selections have been guided as much by mood and impulse as personal taste -- that is to say, I had to choose from those titles I initially chose to watch. I didn't always go with the easy titles, but some formidable ones did get overlooked, but I do still hope to watch and review some of them, sometime or another. So my apologies, in advance, to everything from FORD AT FOX to THE SERGIO LEONE ANTHOLOGY to THE FILMS OF ALEJANDRO JODOROWSKY to THE THREEPENNY OPERA to LA JETÉE/SANS SOLEIL to the remastered GANJA & HESS to EARLY BERGMAN to THE MONSTER SQUAD (I was perhaps most surprised that this one didn't rank on any of our past week's lists)... discs that, for whatever reason, didn't enter the running, through no fault of their own.

To make this game a little more bearable for me and fun for you, I've divided my list into two: one for single movie releases, and another for box sets. I've also thrown in an additional list of notable DVD restorations of 2007 and a couple of "back to the drawing board" titles. Everything is listed in order of preference.

SINGLE FILM RELEASES

1. IF…. (Criterion, pictured)Of all the DVDs I viewed in 2007, this is the one that lifted my heart highest. Lindsay Anderson’s savage and surrealistic parable about how the British school system prepares its young men to inherit the world is one of the great examples of British postwar filmmaking, a key work film of the 1960s, and now one of the great Criterion releases. Malcolm McDowell’s candid audio commentary gives an already exhilarating experience the personal element that makes this two-disc set an instant classic.

2. CALIGULA – THREE-DISC IMPERIAL EDITION (Image Entertainment)I return to this film maudit periodically, always expecting more from it than it can actually deliver; it perpetually frustrates in that it’s never quite so good or so bad as you want it to be. But this handsome set, the unlikely crown atop Image Entertainment’s annual roster, is an important release, not least of all for presenting a reconstructed pre-release version that comes much closer to the target than either of the previous releases issued by Image nearly a decade ago. This explicit-but-not-hardcore 203-minute edition (in which the climactic barge orgy still goes on far too long to no apparent point) is made additionally attractive by two wonderfully dishy commentaries by Malcolm McDowell (moderated by the articulate Nick Redman) and Helen Mirren (moderated by Alan Jones, who exclaims at the sight of Paolo Heusch’s name in the end credits – good man! – and James Chaffin, the author of a forthcoming book on CALIGULA, whose fannish intensity emboldens him to interrupt Dame Helen a few times too often), as well as another featuring a telephone interview with one of the film’s on-set writers, Ernest Volkman (I’ll get around to this one someday, I promise). The set also includes executive producer Bob Guccione’s 156-minute hardcore theatrical version (not the R-rated version that merely snipped out the hardcore material); a wealth of deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes clips, alternate camera angle supplements (including a good deal of additional coverage of the “wedding rape”), and making-of featurettes; new interviews with director Tinto Brass and actors John Steiner and Lori Wagner; a color booklet with molto Watchdoggian liner notes by Thomas A. Ryerson and R. J. Buffalo; two DVD-ROM drafts of Gore Vidal’s original script and miscellaneous press materials; and a good deal more. The reminiscences of the participants seldom coincide but do add up to an enthralling “Rashomon” of an important end-of-an-era production; it is only when Brass speaks about the film that we find someone completely informed about its origins, its mishaps, its misfortunes, its mutinies and lawsuits. His comments about what the movie might have been (he compares his film to the extant one by comparing the original Coliseum to today's ruin) convince us that he is the auteur of this film… or, rather, he would have been, had he not been barred from the shot selection, editing, scoring and so forth by Guccione and others who had no practical experience of assembling a motion picture, much less such a complex and ornate one. Brass insists that he has no interest in going back to this project, so it remains for us to assemble what might have been in our own heads – and this outstanding set makes that goal much closer to possible.

3. KILL, BABY… KILL! (Dark Sky Films)Actually, this one was withdrawn just prior to its release, so I'm splitting hairs a bit by including it, but this was, is, and remains a dream disc for me. This definitive (yet unauthorized) issue of Mario Bava’s most unique film – despite its title, a haunting turn-of-the-20th-century ghost story that has inspired countless filmmakers – exists only in a limited number of copies leaked to the press before the judge’s gavel fell. It’s sourced from a more beautiful and integral element than the authorized Anchor Bay release (included in THE MARIO BAVA COLLECTION VOLUME 1) and, better yet, it features a remarkable documentary in which David Gregory takes Lamberto Bava back to the original shooting locations for some reminiscing – a must-see for all Bava fans. It also features a fairly good audio commentary by Yours Truly (my second attempt), recorded in 2000 before a couple of facts were in place, so it needs redoing.

4. THAT THING YOU DO! – THE DIRECTOR’S CUT (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment)Tom Hanks co-wrote and directed this tuneful, comedic story of the meteoric rise and fall of The Wonders, an imaginary one-hit wonder pop group from the Sixties – and it’s one of the most refreshing and confident directorial debuts ever. Magically attentive to detail, meticulously well-cast, clearly in love with actors and its subject matter, it may well be not only the best movie yet made about this period of American music, but about this period of American history. The director’s cut – which adds more than 40 minutes to the original running time – achieves the unthinkable, actually improving upon a feature that I consider technically perfect and brimming with heart.

5. PAN’S LABYRINTH (New Line Platinum Series)Guillermo del Toro’s latest is a magnificent addition to our archive of fantasy cinema – proof that it’s possible to deal with children and fairies and still produce a film of substance. His audio commentary is the year’s best: he’s the rare filmmaker who can discuss his own work as its creator, as a critic, as a psychoanalyst, and as a fan. The other supplements offer us more than even the most voracious admirer has time to consume.

6. O LUCKY MAN! (Warner Home Video)A long-awaited arrival on DVD, Lindsay Anderson’s second film in the “Mick Travers” triptych (preceded by IF…. and followed years later by BRITANNIA HOSPITAL) is another masterpiece, this time about life after graduation and on the theme of ambition. More approachable for American viewers, its three-hour-plus running time goes by remarkably fast thanks to Alan Price’s sagely winning songs and a consistently surprising script. After hearing the commentary for IF…., I was expecting a bit more vitality from this one (a joint effort by McDowell, writer David Sherwin, and Price) and it’s unfortunate that Warner decided to insert a disruptive disc break. The bonus documentary, Jan Harlan’s O LUCKY MALCOLM!, a feature-length profile of McDowell, is splendid. [Note: My full-length review of O LUCKY MAN! appears in the current January 08 issue of SIGHT & SOUND, also on their website here.]

7. WITCHFINDER GENERAL (MGM/Fox)Literally for decades, I’ve been campaigning for a proper restoration of this film – the most abused of all horror-related movies, the rescored “continental” version of which has seriously and rampantly damaged the reputation of its late director, Michael Reeves (who died in 1969 at age 25), since it succeeded the director’s cut on video in the 1980s. Oddly, now that MGM has finally restored the picture – indeed, presented it uncut in America for the first time – I feel as though I’ve moved beyond it. Strange to think that IF…., made the same year by a man in his late 40s, now seems to me infinitely more angry and revolutionary and romantic than this parallel warning about the perils of politics and regimentation. MGM's restoration is not all of what makes this an important DVD release; its value also resides in the clarity of thought expressed by co-star Ian Ogilvy in his commentary, when he insists that, yes, it’s a wonderful picture… but not really a classic, rather a film whose tremendous promise some people simply cannot bring themselves to accept would remain unfulfilled. That, and the fact that Michael Reeves can finally rest in peace, now that his own best work is able to speak on his behalf.

8. ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS (Criterion)A splendid two-disc set that resurrects and updates one of Criterion’s most outstanding and outré laserdisc releases: a new anamorphic transfer of the 1964 film, a remarkably humanistic and science-rooted picture; the laserdisc commentary by its two stars, remarkably candid about the ways in which this film did and did not change their lives; and an entire second disc of valuable extras, including Michael Lennick’s canny dissection of the science fact underpinning this Ib Melchior-penned science fiction classic.

9. ERIK THE CONQUEROR (Anchor Bay)Mario Bava’s Viking tragedy is the richest of his costume pictures, a staggering triumph of vision over budget, a terrific action picture yet every bit as contemplative and introspective as the later KNIVES OF THE AVENGER, which was more obvious about it. The wedding scene, with its pagan pageantry, numerous extras, and its shower of golden glitter, may be the single most confectionary image I saw on my widescreen monitor all year – because this disc didn’t exist at the time, I wasn’t able to pay it proper respect in MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK. Pure matinee movie magic. I provided the audio commentary for this disc, as well as the Cameron Mitchell interview, but hubris has nothing to do with my selection; the editing skills of producer Perry Martin made both of these supplements better than they were in their raw states.

10 (tie). HELP! (Capitol)If any proof was needed that the DVD market is oversaturated, it’s that this long-desired release came out last month, finally, to almost no fanfare; it’s got to be the most invisible major release of the year – and it doesn’t help that the deluxe edition, the one fans want most, is so overpriced. That said, I believe in all seriousness that time will ultimately be kinder to HELP! than to A HARD DAY’S NIGHT; its sense of humor is every bit as innovative and cutting (the main titles joke of Beatles performance footage being used as a dartboard – and as an intrusion of color into their black-and-white cinematic image – is bravely self-mocking), the songs are better, their presentation is far more inventive, and David Watkin’s color photography is some of the most delicious of the decade. My only complaint: if the Beatles don’t rate the HD DVD or Blu-ray treatment, who should?

10 (tie). WALT DISNEY TREASURES: THE HARDY BOYS – THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB 1956-1957 (Walt Disney Video)This wonderful two-disc release isn’t likely to make many year’s end lists, but that’s not because it’s undeserving. It had the misfortune to hit the market last mid-December – just in time for last-minute holiday shoppers, but too late to make the 2006 lists and, by now, long enough ago to be forgotten. It collects the entire “Mystery of the Applegate Treasure” serial starring Tim Considine and Tommy Kirk (who, it needs to be said, gives a nearly James Dean level performance as Joe Hardy), the entire episode of THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB that introduced the serial, new camera interviews with the stars, a fascinating featurette about the literary history of the Hardy Boys and author “Franklin W. Dixon” (the house name used by various different authors), and much else of interest. The original broadcast of the serial and its repeat in the late 1960s were seismic events for their respective generations, and it remains the definitive adaptation of the Dixon stories, of its time but still retaining its teasing mystery, good humor, and inviting spookiness.

MULTI-TITLE RELEASES

1. BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ (Criterion, pictured)To know that Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s epic adaptation of Alfred Doblin’s comparatively compact novel runs fifteen hours does not fully prepare us for the tempestuous, tumultuous and often tender experience of it; this is not something merely to be seen, but to be lived through – a story of one man’s survival in a frighteningly mercurial and dangerous world, filled with some of the most memorable and heartbreaking characters you will ever meet. Made for German television, it is best absorbed on video and it satisfies differently depending on if you choose to absorb it all in one or two sittings, or in more occasional doses. Barbara Sukowa is astonishing from the moment she enters the picture. The final segment, unapologetically free-form and dreamlike, points the way to what David Lynch would create in the strangest passages of TWIN PEAKS. The set also includes all the documentary support one might wish, and a crucial point of reference: a fascinating 1931 film version, a mere 90 minutes long, scripted by Doblin himself.

2. STANLEY KUBRICK - WARNER HOME VIDEO DIRECTORS SERIES (Warner Home Video)We’ve bought these films twice already on DVD, but the triple dip is truly the pièce de resistance: not only are the audio commentaries and documentary supplements essential, but Kubrick’s MGM-Warner Bros. period is now available in HD DVD and Blu-ray, where the perfect aura of his product is most palpable. The only problem with the set is that it makes one ache for the missing-in-action BARRY LYNDON, which one suspects will benefit most of all (after 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY) from high definition.

3. MARIO BAVA COLLECTION VOLUME 1 & 2 (Anchor Bay Entertainment)Fox’s FORD AT FOX box set (which, needless to say, wasn’t sent to us for review) is receiving a lot of attention for packaging 25 John Ford films (1/5th of them previously released) for just under $300… but shop at the right places and you can acquire the 14 different Mario Bava films collected in these two sets for about $60, in fully restored and supplemented presentations with numerous audio commentaries (most, but not all, by me). FORD AT FOX includes a modest hardcover book; for roughly the same total amount of money (a $10 difference) you can acquire these two sets and a copy of MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK besides. You don’t need me to tell you which is the better value.

4. THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. – THE COMPLETE SERIES (Time/Life)This one arrived on my doorstep in time to slip in right under the wire. The packaging is a retro-delight: 41 discs in a compact silver attaché case bearing the logo of the classic NBC-TV spy series (1964-1968) in orange, white and black. Alas, the attaché case doesn’t snap covert photographs or fire daggers, but this is nevertheless one U.N.C.L.E. that ups the auntie, so to speak: it contains every episode from all four seasons, uncut and digitally remastered, as well as the original “SOLO” pilot in color, the feature ONE SPY TOO MANY, and numerous other supplements and featurettes, elegantly assembled in plastic booklets with transparent slipcases. The set is all that it claims to be – the complete series – but completists will note the absence of the other U.N.C.L.E. movies (which do contain unique footage and were released some years back as a multi-disc set in the UK) and the 1983 CBS reunion TV-movie RETURN OF THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. But there is pa-lenty here to keep us busy until the rest becomes available. This set is available exclusively from Time/Life, and it’s my understanding that the sets are going to be released to stores next year, one season at a time. If true, this is your only shot at acquiring the attaché case and the two bonus discs.

5. POPEYE THE SAILOR VOLUME 1 1933-1938 (Warner Home Video)Long subjected to horrid colorization and even censorship on TBS, The Cartoon Network, Boomerang and other channels, the original B&W POPEYE cartoons produced by the Fleischer studio comprise what many animation buffs consider to be the finest collection of animation shorts ever produced. This set delivers the goods that explain why. Wonderful characters, surreal funhouse glimpses of an equally unique world, infectious songs, and daredevil animation techniques that encompass three-dimensional backdrops and a mind-bending mastery of matters of depth and perspective. And the work is supported by all the scholarship you could want. With four discs, 58 shorts, and two two-reelers in full color (and still a second set to come!), not to mention numerous scholarly commentaries and historical featurettes, this is the most important work of film restoration issued on disc this year. Had it given us “THE COMPLETE POPEYE” all in one place, such generosity might have vaulted it nearer the top of my list.

6. HISTOIRE(S) DU CINÉMA (Gaumont Video, French import)Jean-Luc Godard’s “Story of Cinema” is neither your story of cinema or mine; it’s “his toi,” as the punning logos sometime confess. What is contained in these five discs is an epic poem on the theme of motion pictures, their personalities, their images, their potential – a visual mash-up of images ranging from silent-era pornography to Hitchcock, from Hawks to the Nouvelle Vague, and beyond. Starting to watch this project is a bit like starting to read Nabokov’s ADA: it took me about ten minutes to find the rhythm of the piece, and then I got into it; it was almost like accepting a transfusion of someone else’s blood. Admittedly, it can be disconcerting to see documentary footage from concentration camps ebbing and flowing over and under images of 1920s copulation, but you do come out the other end of this experience with new ways of seeing, and the shorthand achieves greater coherence over time so that you’re tempted to start over from the beginning. With original cameo appearances by Alain Cuny and a very young Julie Delpy. Available stateside from Xploited Cinema.

7. THE PRISONER – 40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION (Network Video, British import)A&E Home Video has glutted the US market with packagings and repackagings of their same old same-old masters of this classic Patrick McGoohan series, but it took Network Video in the UK to do it right: all 17 episodes have been newly transferred from their original negatives and digitally restored, giving the still-progressive show a look of immediacy it never had even on television – the episodes somehow look more vibrant and lifelike than the TWIN PEAKS episodes in my #8 position, which were made twenty-odd years later. They have also been supplemented by seven informative audio commentaries from directors and other production crew, PDF files of the original shooting scripts (including some never produced!), and a new feature-length documentary. No McGoohan input, of course, but you want the show to retain some mystery… Available stateside from Xploited Cinema.

8. TWIN PEAKS DEFINITIVE GOLDEN COLLECTION (Paramount)It’s natural to feel conflicted about this important release, which too closely followed a separate release of the second season (which includes audio commentaries not ported over here), but it does present the long-desired, never-before-domestically-released “first episode” cut of the pilot, the complete run of the series in one compact package, all the Log Lady intros filmed for Bravo, fresh input from David Lynch, a candidly forthcoming making-of documentary, a look at TWIN PEAKS fan getaways, and much else of interest. Aspects of the show have dated, but this set still contains some of the most progressive and harrowing material ever shot for series television – and some of the stand-out scenes in Lynch’s filmography.

9. HEROES – SEASON 1 (Universal Studios Home Entertainment)Only time will tell if this release deserved higher placement on my list, but for now, the classics must take precedence. Nevertheless, here we have one of the most impressive and sustained feats of imaginative storytelling I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing unfold on television in one tidy, generously supplemented package – undeniably, already, a great thing. Going back to the first episode after watching the last is to be astonished by how far a single season of TV can take us and its vividly sketched cast of characters, many of whom are traded between the teams of Good and Evil more times than we can count – and checking out Tim Kring’s original cut of the pilot makes its overall evolution still more remarkable. Yes, it’s like a prequel to X-MEN… but without the gaydar and without the overbearance that comes aboard with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan. And it’s a pleasure to have so many episodes accompanied by helpful, spirited commentary. Take that, SOPRANOS. (Is this Malcolm McDowell’s year or what?)

10. CLASSIC FLY COLLECTION (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment)Kurt Neumann’s THE FLY (1958), filmed in color and scope, and its B&W scope sequel RETURN OF THE FLY (1959) have been issued on disc before. While they are very much two peas in a telepod, both featuring Vincent Price, their previous issues have always missed the companionship of their distant cousin sequel, Don Sharp’s sorely underrated and somewhat (dare I say it?) pre-Cronenbergian CURSE OF THE FLY, made in 1964 in familiar scope and B&W. This set corrects that omission and includes a featurette history of the series that ranks among the very best of its kind. Everything good I can say about this set can also likely be said of the same company’s FOX HORROR CLASSICS set, which collects three important works by director John Brahm (THE LODGER, HANGOVER SQUARE, THE UNDYING MONSTER), which unfortunately I have yet to see.

12 NOTABLE RESTORATIONS

1. POPEYE THE SAILOR 1933-1938 (Warner Home Video)The greatest cartoon series of them all, magnificently restored to something that looks even better than brand new.

2. WITCHFINDER GENERAL (MGM)For the first time in a half-century, this film can be seen by American viewers as Michael Reeves actually made it. The cheesy nudity of the continental version is gone, but its soul and sinew are finally back.

3. CALIGULA – THREE-DISC IMPERIAL EDITION (Image Entertainment)Contains a 203-minute pre-release cut that puts forth this film maudit’s best bid to date for cinematic importance. Seeing this version, I came to the conclusion that its opulent Danilo Donati sets, so grandiose as to make no allowances for camera placement and composition, were ultimately the film’s aesthetic downfall; it had to be shot with four cameras simultaneously, none (or at least few) of the compositions ideal. But finally, there is now a version of the film that warrants more than a single viewing.

4. DUCK, YOU SUCKER (MGM)I still haven't found time to explore the wonders of MGM's SERGIO LEONE ANTHOLOGY set, hence its omission from my multiple title/box set list, but all the accounts I've read seem to agree that Leone's epic revolutionary Western -- always a problem title on tape, laserdisc and DVD -- is now finally as complete as it's ever likely to be, with its long-missing ending finally restored. That's good enough for me.

5. THE FILMS OF KENNETH ANGER, VOLUME 1 and 2 (Fantoma)These two lavishly packaged sets preserve the UCLA Film Archive restorations of Anger’s experimental shorts, produced between 1947 and 1981. Watching them is like seeing the juice put back into a blood orange, or a brace of staid museum curios recharged with their innate unholiness.

6. BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA (Sony Pictures)Though met with ill-informed controversy online, producer Kim Aubry’s work restores Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation as it originally appeared onscreen – undoing much of the chromatic reinvention applied to the picture to make it more “readable” in earlier, cruder home video transfers.

7. IF…. (Criterion)The Criterion disc restores a small amount of footage trimmed from the film’s American release, a frontal view of headmistress Mary McLeod’s nude walk through the empty corridors of the school.

8. HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB (Deimos/BCI Eclipse)After decades of acquiring its cult audience via cut and cropped videotape presentations, the film that many fans consider Paul Naschy’s best arrives on disc as it was meant to be seen. Spanish horror at its most diabolic and merciless.

9. COUNT DRACULA (BBC Warner)This marvelous BBC television production, usually relieved of a brief passage implying the devouring of an infant by Dracula’s wives, arrives on disc intact.

10. QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE (Warner Home Video)Granted, it’s not much to write home about, but this sexist sf-trash favorite does regain something by being available again in its original scope framing – for the first time in almost half a century. Fifty years, people. Fifty years.

PERFORMANCE (Warner Home Video)So close, but the missing "Here's to Old England!" grates on me. Sorry.

TALES FROM THE CRYPT/VAULT OF HORROR (20th Century Fox "Midnite Movies")These long-awaited Amicus adaptations of EC's classic horror comics arrived on DVD half-baked. TALES appears to be alright, but VAULT is still missing the shot trimmed from US prints during the most scissor-happy days of the MPAA, a comic shot of blood being dispensed from a keg in a man's neck in a restaurant for vampires. The shot is included in a Region 2 DVD release that can be obtained from XploitedCinema.com, but the domestic transfer is more attractive.

Later today, I will be posting the announcement of VIDEO WATCHDOG's DVD of the Year, as chosen by our contributors. No fair doing the math yourself. Be surprised.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Here's a surprise mid-day "Baker's Dozen" from VW contributor Stephen R. Bissette, also an award-winning novelist (ALIENS: TRIBES), legendary comics artist and publisher, blogger (see the MYRANT link to the right), and educator at the Center for Cartoon Studies. His new book is BLUR: JUNE 1999-MARCH 2000 (Black Coat Press), a collection of video review columns.

This was damned near impossible to do, given how much has hit the fan(s) this year, but here goes... and yes, I cheated and included boxed sets as single listings. So hurt me.

1. AVANT-GARDE 2: EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA 1928-1954 (Kino)

A fine companion to Kino's AVANT-GARDE 1 collection, at last providing access to "the secret cinema" peppered with so many delightful genre films ignoredby generations; even those who wished to see them rarely could -- until now. Joseph Vogel's HOUSE OF CARDS (1947), Sidney Peterson's astonishing THE CAGE (1947), Paul Leni's REBUS-FILM NO. 1 (1928), a superior transfer of James Watson and Melville Webber's Poe film THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (1928), plus key works by Marie Menken, Stan Brakhage (including his first film, made at age 19, never before available, and the horrific THE WAY TO SHADOW GARDEN, 1954, previously available on Zeitgeist's documentary disc BRAKHAGE), Willard Maas, James Broughton and others culminate in Jean Isidore Isou's feature TRAITE DE BAVE ET D'ETERNITE/VENOM AND ETERNITY (1951).

This earned mention on the Umlands' "honorary mention" list, but it was the DVD set of the year to my mind --but then again, I was part of the EL TOPO generation, midwife of the entire Midnight Movie phenomenon. A definitive showcase of Jodorowsky's early works, including his 35-minute LA CRAVATE (1957), soundtrack CDs, Alejandro's dizzying commentary tracks, the 90-minute documentary LA CONSTELLATION, and more.

3. THE FILMS OF KENNETH ANGER VOLUMES 1 & 2 (Fantoma)

The Umlands also placed this with their honorary mentions but, for me, this was among the key releases of the year, long-awaited and worth that endurance test. Volume 1's inclusion of the exquisite EAUX D'ARTIFICE (1953) and Anger's delirious 'magick' epic INAUGURATION OF THE PLEASURE DOME (1954), featuring a young Curtis Harrington as Cesar the somnambulist, showcases two of the most ravishing underground fantasy films ever made -- what more do you need to make a "best of the year" list?

4. THE FIRST FILMS OF SAMUEL FULLER (Criterion)

Criterion's Eclipse collections are gems, one and all, but this was my personal favorite, supplanting the poor video transfers and dubs on my shelves with top-notch, crisp 1.33:1 screen-and-heart-filling editions of Fuller's pioneer trio (1949-51). For THE STEEL HELMET alone, this is essential viewing, but Vincent Price fans shouldn't miss his turn as one of America's greatest swindlers in THE BARON OF ARIZONA, and I SHOT JESSE JAMES is the ideal companion to this year's theatrical Brad Pitt vehicle on the same subject.

Note: Too bad it wasn't the stellar edition the film deserves, but 2007 also brought Fuller's sadly buried 1982 classic WHITE DOG to DVD, too, via Substance's mediocre transfer -- not among the top of the year in DVD quality but, as a film... whoa, baby!

5. GHIDRAH THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (Classic Media)

Another accurate David Kalat call (whose commentary track I savored, BTW), and my personal favorite of all the marvelous Classic Media Toho Master Collection to date, just because the movie is so much damned fun. Kudos to Classic, too, for including both the Japanese and American theatrical cuts. Runner up: yes, FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD (Tokyo Shock/MediaBlasters), but GHIDRAH takes the cake.

6. HORRORS OF MALFORMED MEN (Synapse Films)

It's been a great year for resurrected Japanese gold, but this is one film I thought I'd never, ever see. Teruo Ishii's completely loopy 1969 hodgepodge of Edogawa Rampo motifs and '60s transgressive hysteria was the most fun I had all year watching a DVD.

7. THE LIVES OF OTHERS (Sony Pictures)

I'm with David K: this was the best movie I saw all year, period, and its DVD release was most welcome. Paul Verhoeven's BLACK BOOK was the second-best film I saw in a theater this year, but Sony's Region 1 R-rated DVD kept Verhoeven's reunion with screenwriter Gerard Soeteman from making my best of the year list-- until I'm certain there's not a more complete edition out there, somewhere...

8. LUNACY (Zeitgeist Video)

2007 offered animation fans banquet after banquet --Warner Bros! Tex Avery! Woody Woodpecker! Fleischer Brothers Popeye! Kino's ANIMATED SOVIET PROPAGANDA! --which alone could comprise a top-12 list. This, though, was the one that shook my world. Jan Svankmajer has been well represented on DVD in 2007 (the recently released collection of his short films is damn near ideal), but his newest feature cuts deep and is as dark, dazzling and delirious as any film he's done to date. For my money, the most underrated slice of fantastique of the year, melding Poe, de Sade and the whole of surrealist cinema; this resonated in my dreams for a whole week.

9. THE MARIO BAVA COLLECTION VOLUME 1 and 2 (Anchor Bay)

There's some things you wish you could live long enough to see. The arrival of Bava's near-complete body of work via these two boxed sets is one of those things one lives for. The upside: ERIK THE CONQUEROR's Region 1 release accompanied this, and CALTIKI arrived on DVD in Italy (Xploited Cinema has it). The downside: the AIP versions are in legal limbo still, and the bump of Dark Sky's ravishing definitive release of KILL BABY KILL/OPERAZIONE PAURA from the marketplace.

10. OSKAR FISCHINGER: TEN FILMS (Center for Visual Music)

In a year to be celebrated for unprecedented viewer access to experimental/avant garde/underground film history and amazing animation, this release of abstract animator Oskar Fischinger's body of work --ten films indeed, spanning from 1921-1947 -- stands tall and pure and uncanny.

11. PERFORMANCE (Warner Home Video)

I damned Warner even as I delighted in this DVD -- if only! If only the rough cut footage were included; if only that minor but indelible line of Mick's dialogue were intact; if only... but this is as gorgeous and complete a version as we've had yet in the US since the film's original X-rated release, and Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg's masterpiece is as mind-blowing as ever, so I won't look a gift horse in the -- bullethole.

12. THE SERGIO LEONE ANTHOLOGY (MGM/20th Century Fox)

Another DVD set I'm glad I've lived long enough to see and savor. Sheldon Inkol and John Charles already called it, but there's no getting around this being one of the year's revelations. Now that we've also got THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES as of this year, too (via Warner's 2007 "Cult Camp Classics" sets), these revamped releases of A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, the definitive THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (already released by MGM, but nice inclusion here) are more welcome than ever. But most vital of all is the most complete edition of DUCK, YOU SUCKER yet, its first stateside DVD release done up right. I've yet to compare it to the VHS (the A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE cut), the laserdisc, the taped-from-television and import versions, but this diehard Leone lover is satisfied... at last.

13. THE VAMPIRE COLLECTION (Casa Negra)

Casa Negra's procession of Mexican horror DVD releases have all been sheer pleasure, but this double-disc double-bill Fernando Mendez feast even beats BRAINIAC as their finest yet. Seeing 1957's THE VAMPIRE and THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN with such clarity reorients one to the whole of the Mexican genre's permutations to follow, and bonus items in this set sweeten the package (the complete French photo novel of the sequel!) immeasurably.

VW contributor, novelist and audio commentator Kim Newman contributes to a good many other publications, and he begged off contributing a Favorite Discs list for us because he's presently tied up preparing his year's end list of 2007's theatrical releases. But Kim did thoughtfully dash off the following list of "notable UK releases that might be worth folks' attention elsewhere..."

Mind you, these are all Region 2 discs and the best sources for these are places like Amazon.co.uk (UK), Amazon.fr (France), sazuma.com and XploitedCinema.com.

LIFE ON MARS: SERIES ONE and SERIES TWO (Pictured)

Both seasons of this limited-run, time travel/subjective reality cop show are now out. A US remake is in the works, but I suspect it'll be hard to match the ingenious, affecting tone of the original. I'll concur that the BBC's releases of the new DOCTOR WHO series have been outstanding, but a word also for the job they've done on various "classic" serials - all cleaned up and with a fascinating array of extras that make even the minor efforts worth a look.

THE SHOUT and THE POSSESSION OF JOEL DELANEY

A modest plug, in that Steve Jones and I did the critical commentary tracks for these releases, but I was as taken with the rediscoveries of these little-known titles as anyone else. When Steve and I were asked to do these films, we thought there wouldn't be enough in them to fill out a track - but, actually, both films are extremely rewarding, complicated and unexpectedly scary.

LES VAMPIRES

Actually, this is a French R2 release, but it's a gorgeous box - with the Feuillade serial, plus other films, plus associational material. From a later generation, the seminal French serial BELPHEGOR, with Juliet Greco, is also out and well worth a look.

TWISTED NERVE

This psycho-thriller, controversial in its day, is out as part of a Boulting Brothers box set and on its own. Probably best-known for that Bernard Herrmann whistle Tarantino loves to sample, it has a remake-worthy central creepy idea, and an outstanding psycho performance from Hywel Bennett as a genius-level sociopath doing a Lars von Trier act as a kindly simple-minded man to cover up a murder spree.

CANYON PASSAGE and THE DEADLY COMPANIONS

These minor, auteur Westerns -- respectively from Jacques Tourneur and Sam Peckinpah -- are both only available in proper forms on R2 (there are PD pan&scans of the Peckinpah on R1 which should be avoided). Both films have been overlooked and are worthy rediscoveries. [Editor's note: reader Wade Sowers wrote to remind us that CANYON PASSAGE was in fact issued in Region 1 this year, as part of Universal's CLASSIC WESTERN ROUNDUP VOLUME 1 box set.]

Finally, let's hear it for those net-based firms boldly putting out old TV shows that aren't likely to get an official release in the near future. In the past year, I've been enjoying or rediscovering THE CORRIDOR PEOPLE, DOOM WATCH, THE OWL SERVICE (a children's TV serial from 1970 that ought to be hailed as a major work of filmed fantasy), OUT OF THE UNKNOWN, SUPERNATURAL and THE MAD DEATH.

The following list by VW contributor, filmmaker (THE FLESH EATERS) and horror host (REMO D's MANOR OF MAYHEM) Shane M. Dallmann is presented in alphabetical order:

ANGEL-A (Sony, pictured) and ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES (Weinstein)After too long a hiatus, Luc Besson returned to the director's chair twice, serving up both a charming, black-and-white adult fairy tale... and a children's film far more capable of entertaining its target audience than the critics could force themselves to acknowledge (expecting NIKITA from ARTHUR or something)?

COOL McCOOL (BCI)The complete run of a fantastically funny 60s animation favorite, supplemented to the hilt courtesy of Wally Wingert and the one and only Chuck McCann.

CRANK (Lionsgate)Make all the "short attention span" jokes you like--this was a wild, constantly inventive time at the movies, and the DVD is every bit as freewheeling. Profundity: zero. Entertainment: off the hook.

THE DUNGEON OF DR. DRECK (Sub Rosa)Made by horror hosts for fellow hosts and their fans: Dr. Dreck and Moaner the Zombie Cheerleader show how they took over their local airwaves -- and how the powers that be tried to stop them. A true story? You decide... but it's irresistible fun.

FLASH GORDON: SAVIOUR OF THE UNIVERSE EDITION (Universal)Give Dino his due: for all the strange casting and character revampings, this is one of the most wondrously colorful, infectious and dazzling space operas ever mounted, and it's never looked or sounded better than it does here.

THE PAUL NASCHY COLLECTION (VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES, NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF, EXORCISM, HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB; BCI/Deimos)Long overdue but well worth the wait -- beautifully restored, thoroughly annotated special editions of key works from the filmography of one of the most important genre figures.

PUSS 'N BOOTS (Ryko)Aka THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF PUSS 'N BOOTS. Probably the best buried animated treasure to surface this year, and not just because of the excellent early Miyazaki work seen during the climax -- both the long-unseen U.S. version and the new-to-the-States Japanese original get the royal treatment.

STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS (Screen Media)Nobody dared give it a proper theatrical release, but Jeff Burr's grim World War II tale is one of the most daring, compelling and genre-informed treatments of the theme yet attempted.

TWIN PEAKS: DEFINITIVE GOLD BOX COLLECTION (Paramount)To quote Lee Strasberg in BOARDWALK (1979): "Do you have a lifetime for me to explain it to you?"

VINCENT PRICE: THE SCREAM GREATS COLLECTION (MGM)The restoration of WITCHFINDER GENERAL is significant enough. Surround it with six other VP favorites (including both PHIBES films and THEATER OF BLOOD) and you've got an unbeatable package, case closed.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: The CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS 30th Anniversay "Exhumed Edition" will qualify once VCI substitutes the defective print (accidentally released and promptly recalled) with the real thing thanks to the commentary and supplements alone. The BLACK CHRISTMAS remake belongs in this category as well, if only for offering us a last look at Bob Clark in action).

I would have mentioned the Classic Media GODZILLA restorations here, but I'm quite annoyed at the company for shoehorning the previously unreleased ALL MONSTERS ATTACK/GODZILLA'S REVENGE and TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA special editions as "exclusives" in a comprehensive (and pricey) box set rather than offer them separately (so far). I'll also hold out for the theatrical edition of GRINDHOUSE before I praise the separated entries.

William Friedkin's BUG was one of the best films of the year, but I don't have the DVD yet. HOSTEL PART II deserves a mention on the strength of its commentaries and supplements and the wealth of Italian horror history they have to offer.

And finally, I don't dare list my PERSONAL favorite DVD of the year in the Top Ten, but I'm quite pleased with the way my first effort in the field of audio commentary/interview went in BCI's DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE (which also contains what would turn out to be the final interview of the late Nicholas Worth).

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Today's list reflects the tastes of VW contributor Richard Harland Smith, who moonlights (or daylights, as it were) as a liner notes writer for various DVD labels and blogger at the Turner Classic Movies page, MovieMorlocks.com. His list begins with his favorite of the year, but the rest are in no particular order.

THREE FILMS BY HIROSHI TESHIGAHARA (Criterion)

Although I was familiar with WOMAN IN THE DUNES (thanks to Gordon Gow's eye-opening genre study SUSPENSE IN THE CINEMA), the larger career of Hiroshi Teshigahara was uncharted territory to me until this year. WOMAN didn't disappoint and PITFALL and FACE OF ANOTHER (pictured above) are equally compelling and gorgeously photographed meditations on post-war life in a rapidly modernizing (and westernizing) Japan. My top-slotted DVD release of the year.

CLASSIC FLY COLLECTION (20th Century Fox)

Even though I already have THE FLY and RETURN OF THE FLY on a double disc, I'm all abuzz about this new collection for the inclusion of CURSE OF THE FLY, starring the incomparable Carole Gray. If you thought RETURN was minor and depressing, brother you don't know the half of it! CURSE is one of the great soul-scarring experiences of my childhood.

THE PSYCHIC (Severin Films)

It's about bloody time somebody showed some love for this redheaded stepchild of the Lucio Fulci corpus. I'm not calling THE PSYCHIC a lost classic, just a whiter shade of Fulci and an indispensable slice of Euro-Cult.

MICHAEL SHAYNE MYSTERIES, VOL. 1 (20th Century Fox)

A great rediscovery that didn't get enough nearly enough press or praise upon its release back in the Spring. Tight, neat little comic thrillers starring the long-underrated Lloyd Nolan, backed by a slew of cherce supporting players from Hollywood's boiling B-unit.

FOX HORROR CLASSICS COLLECTION (20th Century Fox)

Fox comes through again with a dynamite collection of largely forgotten suspense thrillers and one downright supernatural shocker. I would have paid this much for THE UNDYING MONSTER alone but I'm pleased as punch to have director John Brahm's THE LODGER and HANGOVER SQUARE as well.

SAM KATZMAN COLLECTION (Sony Pictures)

Admittedly not in the same league as the films cited above, but the titles comprising this collection are nonetheless guilty pleasures non pareil... especially THE GIANT CLAW and THE WEREWOLF. And that packaging! In a word: gimme!

I love CHOSEN SURVIVORS as much for what it does wrong (skimpy characterization) as what it does right (Fred Karlin's cool synth score, whose thumping bass line anticipates John Carpenter's minimalist noodlings for HALLOWEEN) and I went batty when I heard it was getting a proper DVD release. It's just one of those titles from the early 70s that had great re-telling properties on my grammar schoolyard. As for THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING, I'm a sucker for 60s British sci-fi... something about thatch roofs and ro-men really sends me.

THE OMEGA MAN (Warner Home Video)

Available in HD and Blu-ray, either of these remastered DVDs will do as a testament to this enduring schlock classic. Watch this back-to-back with CHOSEN SURVIVORS for a freefalling Lincoln Kilpatrick double-bill.

WHO CAN KILL A CHILD? (Dark Sky Films)

I never ever thought this disturbing Spanish horror film would ever ever rate an American DVD release and I'm ever glad to be wrong. If you haven't seen this muy creepy island-set thriller, run-- don't walk-- to get your hands on a copy. But send your kids to the mall first.

THE NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF (BCI/Eclipse)

This is just one of a slew of Paul Naschy movies put out by BCI/Eclipse and all are equally noteworthy but I think this title (alternatively known as THE CRAVING) is a stand-out due to its relative rarity and good production values. If you're a Naschy newbie, sink your teeth into this!

Friday, December 14, 2007

Today's list compiles the favorites of VW contributor David Kalat, also the author of J-HORROR (Vertical Press) and the man behind the DVD company devoted to films that fall through the cracks, All Day Entertainment.

1. DOCTOR WHO - THE COMPLETE THIRD SERIES (BBC Warner)I was 10 years old when I first saw DOCTOR WHO: it was Episode 3 of "The Stones of Blood," broadcast on PBS. I have nursed my dedicated fandom long enough now to have my own 10 year old child (and a 7 year old) whose Who-mania matches my own—they read DOCTOR WHO MONTHLY, collect the action figures, groove to the soundtrack album. Ever since the show returned so triumphantly in 2005, it has been a focal point of my family’s TV quality time. As long as they keep making it, I’ll keep listing the box sets as among my favorite discs of the year.

2. HEROES - SEASON 1 (Universal)Most of my friends and family were caught up with HEROES during its broadcast run, but I missed the first half of the first season and didn’t want to join a serial drama in medias res. So I waited, not so patiently, for this DVD box set, which I hungrily devoured in about two weeks. The current half season has been a disappointment, but after such an astounding first season what wouldn’t have been? Few TV shows come out on day one at full strength—most need some time to mature and find their voice. This is a rare creation, and further proof that the best cinema these days is on TV. Also available on HD DVD.

3. THE FIRST KINGS OF COMEDY COLLECTION (Genius Entertainment)Robert Youngson is a curious figure in film preservation. In his day, he was the kind of person who represented the precise antithesis of the VIDEO WATCHDOG ethos: he took perfectly good movies and cut them up, re-edited them, retooled them into new forms. But, in the decades that have elapsed since he tinkered with these classics of silent comedy, many of the films he adapted have all but vanished, their nitrates dissolved into pools of silver flakes, their prints wasted away and lost. Youngson’s work paradoxically preserved the footage in question, and there’s scarcely a film preservationist today who doesn’t thank him for it. This DVD presents his first two comedy compilations, rich with the big names of Laurel & Hardy, Buster Keaton, Harry Langdon and Charley Chase, but also studded with rare clips of lesser comics and forgotten treasures. Most silent comedy aficionados of a certain age learned their passion from watching these films in their youth, and they still work wonders on neophytes and silent comedy virgins. There are unauthorized pirate DVDs available of these and other Youngson compilations -- VW’ers should steer clear of those with the Televista label -- but this legit release from Genius Entertainment is fully licensed and mastered from top quality elements.4. FILM NOIR COLLECTION VOLUME 4 (Warner Home Video)Warner's Film Noir collections have always been must-have items in my book, but with this latest installment they have substantially raised the bar. The earlier volumes were packed with the biggies, well-heeled exemplars of 1940s crime thriller cool; this box doubles the number of movies and reaches deeper into the bin for more obscure (and precious) gems. Add in commentaries and featurettes, and you’ve got one of the best entertainment bargains going.5. THE AKI KAURISMAKI COLLECTION VOLUME 3 (Sandrew Metronome, Finnish R2 import)I lived in Germany in 1990-1991, and in the center of the little Schwartzwald town was a movie theater that only ran midnight cult movies. The favored selections were MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL and LENINGRAD COWBOYS GO AMERICA. I fell in love with LENINGRAD COWBOY’s offbeat dry wit, as did nearly every other college student in Freiburg. When I saw that another film by director Aki Kaurismaki was coming to the local film society, I was first in line. The movie was one of Kaurismaki’s earliest works, HAMLET GOES BUSINESS. It took Shakespeare’s tragedy and turned it into a Cold War political allegory rich in slapstick. If you have a hard time imagining such a thing, then that’s all the more reason to see it. I give high marks to anyone whose Hamlet adaptation includes the line, “Ham? Let me at it!” I have spent the entire time since then looking for this film on video. I even started trading DVDs with a friend in Finland hoping he could locate what Google could not. Imagine my delight when this Region 2 UK disc came out in October! It has Kaurismaki’s first 3 films, remastered with English subtitles, all for a low, low price. Now that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout! [Editor's Note: Amazon.com mistakenly lists HAMLET GOES BUSINESS as being included on THE AKI KAURISMAKI COLLECTION VOLUME 2, but it's actually on VOLUME 3 as David describes.]

6. RETRIBUTION (Hong Kong import)I’d watch anything by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and as soon as I did I’d likely list it here as one of my faves, so I’m pleased to note that, despite my mindless fanboy obsession, this thriller is actually extremely good.

7. THE LIVES OF OTHERS (Sony Pictures)I’ve always been a sucker for a good espionage paranoia thriller and, having lived in Germany just after the Wall fell and Reunification began, I find this Cold War drama has a special allure. I saw the film in New York -- one of the few times I actually made it to a real theater this year for anything other than a kids’ film -- and I think it might be the best movie I saw all year, in any format or any genre. Also available in Blu-ray.8. THE HOST (Magnolia Home Entertainment)I’ve been a monster movie fan for over 30 years, and I’ve very nearly seen it all. For a giant monster flick to come along that surprises me, thrills me, enraptures me—that is an amazing achievement. I was fortunate enough to see this in the theater with a packed house, and now I can recreate the experience at home. Available as a single and as a two-disc "collectors edition."

9. FRANKENSTEIN VS BARUGON (Tokyo Shock/Media Blasters)The movie itself is a silly concoction best enjoyed while doing something else—like eating popcorn, or having a pillow fight. I’d already seen it about as many times as I cared to, and the Japanese laserdisc suited me just fine, until this fabulous Media Blasters disc came along to make it feel fresh and new again. A stellar job, a DVD done right.

10. GHIDRAH THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (Classic Media)I know, I shouldn’t be plugging a disc I was involved with, but come on—they didn’t use most of the bonus features I provided and my commentary track is utterly dispensible. What makes this worthwhile are the movies themselves—the Japanese edition and the American theatrical recut (which I believe improves slightly on the original version). Awhile back, the Mobius discussion group had a thread about which movies members had collected multiple copies of. I have some offenders—a handful of movies I’ve somehow managed to buy ten times over, in a futile search for the “perfect” version. But then there are movies like this, long unavailable and dearly wished-for. And then, magically, they appear—already perfect!

I previously announced that our Favorite lists would wrap up at the end of this week, but we still have lists from Shane M. Dallmann and Richard Harland Smith to post before getting to mine and VIDEO WATCHDOG's consensus choice for Best DVD of 2007, so our lists will continue on through the weekend.Tomorrow: the top picks of VW contributor and Movie Morlocks blogger Richard Harland Smith.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

I don't have PAN'S LABYRINTH, IF... or BLADE RUNNER yet, but those are titles that should probably be on this list. With that in mind...

1.TWIN PEAKS DEFINITIVE GOLD BOX EDITION (Paramount)In last year's list, I asked for the second season... and I got something definitive. Well, almost definitive. If only those deleted scenes from TWIN PEAKS FIRE WALK WITH ME were included...

2.CEMETERY WITHOUT CROSSES (FRIEDHOF OHNE KREUZE, Anolis, PAL R0)Robert Hossein's undeservedly obscure Euro-Western, in a definitive package that features surprising revelations about the credited non-participation of Dario Argento... and the uncredited participation of Sergio Leone! Available as an import from Xploited Cinema.

3.DR. WHO THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON and DR. WHO THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON (BBC Video/2 Entertain)Two seasons released at either end of 2007. A great time to be a fan of the Doctor.

4. WITCHFINDER GENERAL (MGM)Properly and respectfully restored, and doing justice to the memory of Michael Reeves.

5. THE SERGIO LEONE ANTHOLOGY (MGM/20th Century Fox)Including improved releases of A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, and the first-ever R1 release of DUCK, YOU SUCKER, in its most complete form yet.

6. FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD (Tokyo Shock/Media Blasters)An entertaining and comprehensive treatment given to a childhood pleasure. If you enjoy bizarre endings that come out of left field, you owe it to yourself to experience the unbelievably loopy Devilfish finale.

7. THE MARIO BAVA COLLECTION VOLUME 1 (Anchor Bay)Finally, KILL, BABY...KILL! in widescreen with the original Italian soundtrack and English subtitles. (Too bad it doesn't have a certain commentary track you've probably heard of.) Also, BLACK SUNDAY and welcome upgrades of BLACK SABBATH and THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH.

8. THE HELLBENDERS (Anchor Bay)Sergio Corbucci's underrated, existential Spaghetti Western. A big influence on Quentin Tarantino and worthy of rediscovery in its own right.

9. BEDAZZLED (20th Century Fox)Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Eleanor Bron and Raquel Welch, all in their prime. And still very, very funny 40 years later.

10. THE CHOCOLATE WAR (MGM)Keith Gordon's unusual directorial debut, making its first appearance on DVD.

11. A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL (TOTE AMIGO, Koch Media, R2 PAL)Not just another release of Damiano Damiani's classic Spaghetti Western, but notable for its inclusion of two different English audio tracks, one appearing on DVD for the first time and superior to the dub job found on earlier R1 releases. Also available from Xploited Cinema.

Last year's TWIN PEAKS wish came true, and then some, so here's my Wish List for 2008:

ANDY WARHOL'S BADMonte Hellman's CHINA 9, LIBERTY 37 (restored and widescreen)Dario Argento's FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVETLarry Fessenden's THE LAST WINTERMESSIAH OF EVIL (restored and widescreen)Sergio Corbucci's NAVAJO JOEMichael Tolkin's THE NEW AGETWO LIVING, ONE DEAD starring Patrick McGoohanTHE WITCHMAKERTomorrow: The year's top picks as chosen by VW contributor, author, and Mr. All Day Entertainment, David Kalat.